The disaster is only the beginning of the story.
Air Disasters
Catastrophic incidents in aviation history are meticulously reenacted, providing insight into what went wrong and if the crashes and near-disasters could have been prevented. Accounts from survivors combine with cockpit recordings and computer images to weave the gripping tales, and expert testimony reveals the hows and whys behind the events, some of which have resulted in important changes to aviation safety and regulations.
Episodes
Runtime: 44m
On Jul 2, 2021 — Transair Flight 810 (Boeing 737): Minutes after a night takeoff from Honolulu, a cargo crew reports engine trouble and ditches in the dark Pacific — but the recovered wreckage tells a different story than the pilots do.
On Aug 13, 2004 — Air Tahoma Flight 185 (Convair 580): Within sight of the runway at Cincinnati, both engines of a cargo turboprop flame out, and it comes down on a golf course short of the field.
Runtime: 44m
On Jan 9, 2021 — Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 (Boeing 737): Minutes after leaving Jakarta in heavy rain, a jet banks hard and plunges into the Java Sea, and the investigation surfaces defects no one had caught.
Runtime: 44m
On Nov 6, 2002 — Luxair Flight 9642 (Fokker 50): On a foggy morning approach to Luxembourg, a commuter flight from Berlin suddenly drops from the sky just miles from the runway.
Runtime: 44m
On Feb 27, 2001 — Loganair Flight 670A (Short 360): Moments after a night takeoff from Edinburgh, a mail plane loses both engines and comes down in the frigid Firth of Forth, and investigators trace the cause to the ground.
Runtime: 44m
On Apr 6, 1993 — China Eastern Airlines Flight 583 (MD-11): High over the North Pacific, a jet suddenly pitches into violent oscillations that hurl passengers about the cabin, forcing an emergency landing on a remote Aleutian island.
On Sep 6, 1985 — Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 (DC-9): Seconds after takeoff from Milwaukee — in aviation's deadliest year — a jet rolls out of its climb and crashes just beyond the airport.
Runtime: 44m
On Jan 23, 2020 — Coulson Aviation Tanker 134 (C-130): Battling catastrophic bushfires in New South Wales, an air tanker goes down after a retardant drop, and investigators must work inside an active fire zone.
Runtime: 44m
On Jul 1, 2002 — Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 & DHL Flight 611: Witnesses on the ground watch two aircraft collide in the night sky over southern Germany, and investigators confront how it could happen under modern air traffic control.
Runtime: 44m
On Dec 22, 1996 — Airborne Express Flight 827 (DC-8): During a post-maintenance evaluation flight over Virginia, a cargo jet's test of its stall behavior goes catastrophically wrong in the mountains.
Runtime: 44m
On Feb 1, 1991 — USAir Flight 1493 (Boeing 737): After a runway collision at LAX, passengers aboard the burning jet face a desperate struggle to escape — and the investigation reshapes evacuation safety.
